Foundations & Philanthropic Leadership

Leadership Training for Foundations & Their Communities

Partnering with foundations to provide philanthropy-funded professional development for community leaders to drive societal impact.

Your foundation is on a mission to create change. For your leaders, that creates a unique challenge: how do you effectively and compassionately manage the health and wellness of your own internal organization and the communities you serve?

As you stretch to respond to community needs, one thing is clear: it’s time to think differently about your philanthropic leadership role. And you’re not alone. Today, many foundations are moving beyond traditional approaches, opting instead to build scalable models that apply philanthropic leadership development to drive systemic change.

This model isn’t just about internal leaders. Your grantees are already doing good work. You can  support their efforts and extend their reach even further by increasing access to professional development for community leaders that builds leadership skills and supports teams and organizations.

For decades, we’ve partnered closely with large and small foundations for cutting-edge philanthropic leadership development that increases equity and improves outcomes. Leverage our experience in nonprofit leadership development, leadership training for K-12 educators and higher education leaders, and in public health organizations.

Philanthropic Leadership Development Solutions

The ability of your executive team to work together effectively may be the single most critical element in your organization’s success.

Partner with our experts in senior leadership team development, who can assess and improve executive team dynamics… because when your senior leadership team’s collaboration is at its best, the positive effects are felt across the organization and seen in results. We understand the challenges facing your foundation’s philanthropic leadership initiatives.

  • Proven, research-based guidance from our experts, who have extensive experience working with senior executives
  • Align your leadership and culture to your strategy and priorities

Whether you want your team to communicate more effectively across differences, align behaviors with beliefs, or address unconscious bias, this program can equip everyone at your organization — from the front desk to the corner office — to hold better conversations every day

We can partner with you to strengthen coaching and conversation skills across your organization through a lens of building a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive culture.

  • Scale a more inclusive, psychologically safe culture of feedback to increase equity and inclusion and unlock the power of diversity

We offer a variety of research-based, proven leadership topic modules to help you upskill your team.

Start building a long-term outlook for success, both within your organization and with your external partners, by breaking down silos and transforming boundaries into frontiers. Increased collaboration will lead to more innovation and less waste.

We can deliver our world-class content on Boundary Spanning Leadership — or you can. Either way, our content will equip your team to work together more effectively.

  • Proven content module that can be combined with others into a customized learning journey for leaders at every level

We have extensive experience partnering with grant-making organizations and corporate foundations (for example, with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, among many others) to design and deliver multi-year fellowship programs that offer professional development supported by philanthropy. We can help your foundation drive meaningful change through providing access to our proven, life-changing professional development to build leadership capacity as your fellows work to confront some of society’s most pressing challenges. 

What Our Clients Are Saying​

At CCL, we measure success by lives touched and impact made. That’s why the foundations we work with and the leaders we transform consistently tell us the same thing: their experience with us is a game-changer. Through our partnerships with foundations, we’ve helped provide philanthropic leadership training and capacity-building at literally thousands of organizations.

But don’t just take our word for it — take theirs.

Collaborative Crop Research Program McKnight Foundation Logo
The Global Fund logo
American Express Leadership Academy
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Coca Cola Scholars Foundation

Meet Our Foundations & Philanthropy Experts

Courtney Gentry

Courtney Gentry

Senior Manager, Corporate & Foundation Relations

Courtney serves as the primary relationship manager for our corporate and foundation partners and creates connections that enable innovative, systemic solutions for some of society’s biggest problems. She also manages our scholarship program, ensuring that educators and nonprofit leaders are given the opportunity to access transformational professional development to build leadership capacity. She helps individuals and organizations worldwide build a better future.

Michael Clinton

Michael Clinton, MA

Corporate Relations Partner

Michael is our Corporate Relations Partner for partnerships to advance societal impact. He creates connections that enable innovative, inclusive, and systemic solutions to building leadership capacity for all. He also manages Philanthropy Leaders Connect, a group that connects philanthropic leaders from a variety of industries and provides leadership building techniques, insights, and networking.

Vicky Grobler

Vicky Grobler

Societal Impact Director, Europe

Vicky designs and delivers transformational leadership development experiences to leaders at every level, across every sector, in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America with particular focus on the NGO/Humanitarian Sector and Foundations. She collaborates with internal and external partners to meet the unique leadership needs of nonprofit, humanitarian, and inter-governmental organizations.

Let’s Talk About Philanthropic Leadership Goals at Your Foundation

Our experts are here to help. Get in touch about partnering with us to leverage philanthropy to offer professional development that builds leadership capacity and creates a greater impact.

Philanthropic Leadership Development: Research, Resources & Partnerships

More About Foundations & Philanthropic Leadership Training

Philanthropic Leadership Development to Drive Lasting Change​

The benefits of effective philanthropic leadership development are not limited to a single event or conference. Long after the program ends, growth continues to resonate and impact ripples outward, affecting not only the individuals in the program, but also each of the lives that they touch and change as a result.

We work closely with institutional, family, and corporate foundations for philanthropic leadership initiatives providing access to capacity-building community leadership training, both internally and among grantees and communities served. We focus on the areas where leadership has the most potential to improve lives and create lasting change and improved societal outcomes.

Philanthropic Leaders Professional Development

Partnering for Philanthropy Professional Development to Community Leaders

For us, philanthropic leadership development is more than a mission — it’s a calling. As a nonprofit ourselves, we understand the need for strong, mission-driven, focused leadership. We can help you and your grantees achieve your missions and build stronger and more equitable communities. We can help you to develop the capacity of leaders at all levels, at every stage of their careers.

Like you, we are guided by purpose and fueled by passion. Combine your talented, committed team with our world-class, research-backed tools and community leadership training programs. Let’s work together to become a catalyst for change.

Frequently Asked Questions Related to Philanthropic Leadership

Philanthropic leadership is driven by passion, purpose, and a mission. Leaders of foundations and philanthropic organizations are focused on building stronger leaders and more inclusive and equitable organizations and communities. They aim to serve as catalysts to drive systemic change and sustainable social progress.

Philanthropic leadership development helps create growth opportunities for leaders, increasing their capacity to respond to urgent community needs, increase equity, drive sustainable change, reduce burnout for themselves and their teams, and improve outcomes overall. A leader’s personal growth impacts and benefits everyone they touch, whether they’re working in the nonprofit sector, serving at a public health clinic or school, or partnering with teams in higher education.

Leadership capacity is about being able to learn, grow, and stretch into new areas. It’s also about challenging yourself and engaging in difficult conversations that can spark real change. Our philanthropic leadership development partnerships enable increased access to community leadership training programs, helping mission-driven organizations build leadership capacity by providing their teams with access to professional development.

More questions? Our experts are here to help. Let’s have a conversation!

Related to Foundations & Philanthropic Leadership